I read with interest about the possible big-name NRL faces that are coming over to Super League shores for 2019. Blake Austin is confirmed to be on his way to Warrington Wolves, with Tui Lolohea also in the sights of Leeds Rhinos.

That’s great for our competition as over the last few years, we’ve been unable to attract top players from the Southern Hemisphere. You go back to the Noughties for when that last happened as in the salary-cap sport we’re in, we still are unable to compete with our Australian neighbours.

However, Austin and Lolohea will add considerable quality to our division and that in itself will make it a stronger game over here.

We’re still losing our homegrown stars to the NRL, however, with John Bateman all-but heading to Canberra in 2019. The Wigan man is certain to end his stay with the Warriors for a switch to the Raiders.

Whilst it’s a good reward for Bateman, I’d much rather see him in a Wigan jersey than say, Lolohea, for example. We want the cream of the crop to stay in our league but it’s become inevitable that our top talents will head over for a crack on Aussie shores at some point in their careers.

Will it do the player any harm for his country chances? Absolutely not. We’ve seen how Sam Burgess and many others have grown in stature since making the move over there, and in my eyes if it wasn’t for Cameron Smith, looking closer to home, Josh Hodgson is the world’s best hooker.